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sapphim

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sapphim

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About this mod

play with both Bethany and Carver alive—fully implemented!

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Twinception

What it does:
  • Twinception's main aim, for the duration of the five years it has been in development, has been to allow you to play the entire game with both siblings present, rather than one being arbitrarily killed off in the prologue based on your choice of class.
  • However!! Twinception has been designed very specifically to be as reactive as possible to whatever outcome the player desires.
  • The twins, if alive, should always appear as appropriate in their cameos in Acts 2-3, and be selectable in MotA and Legacy DLC.
  • The twins, if dead, should be spoken of fondly and seen and heard from no more.
  • The vast majority of erroneous references to Hawke's class or siblings' deaths have been removed, although there remain a few instances of ex. Hawke being incorrectly called a mage, or family reminiscing fondly of a dead loved one while they stand in the same room.
  • You should be able to pick up a pre-existing playthrough without uninstalling the mod and run into few or no issues!

Birthright:
  • The Birthright quest had to be altered more comprehensively than anything else in the game to function properly.
  • Both armor upgrades and both gifts for Bethany and Carver will be received during the quest.
  • You should run into no issues playing the quest from start to finish with the mod installed the entire time. However:
  • If you load a save where the quest was active before the mod was installed, and then try to complete the quest with the mod installed, you may run into unpredictable issues.
  • If you load a save where the quest was active while the mod was installed, and then try to complete the quest with the mod uninstalled, you may run into unpredictable issues.

The Deep Roads Expedition:
  • You can take one twin of your choice on the Deep Roads Expedition, or you can leave them both behind.
  • You cannot take both twins on the Deep Roads Expedition, and if you attempt to select them both in the party picker, the mod will interrupt the game and force you to remove one of them from the party before you can proceed. The Expedition is not set up in a way that can handle multiple siblings present, nor are any of the subsequent base game warden cameos.

Legacy DLC:
  • Legacy DLC has not yet been fully implemented.
  • You should be able to select both twins if appropriate, and they will both appear and participate in the introduction (if in the active party in act 1, or alive in act 2+).
  • No banter has been edited yet.
  • The cutscene completing the Malcolm's Will quest has not been edited yet. If both twins are present, Bethany will take priority.
  • If both twins are active, only Bethany's Bloodline staff will be received as a reward for completing Malcolm's Will.
  • The cutscene completing the DLC has not been edited yet. If both twins are alive in act 2+, Carver will take priority.
  • Unedited scenes will contain erroneous references to Hawke's class and siblings' deaths.

Localization:
  • This mod is very nearly fully localized—if you have your game set to a language other than English, then you will encounter no English audio or subtitles.
  • The small exception to localization is in the conversation prior to entering the deep roads at the end of Act 1. The dialogue wheel options "Bethany's coming with me," and "Carver's coming with me," will appear in English. However, the subtitles and audio will be in the correct language.
  • Any debug dialogue, including the warning if you try to bring both twins on the Deep Roads Expedition, will also appear in English, obviously.
  • I plan to at some point eventually update the mod with edited audio later for better immersion, but will maintain a version without any audio edits for people who prefer no English audio in their game.

Other known issues:
  • This mod edits a very large number of very small files, which the game does not tend to look upon favorably. The vast majority of files in the mod have been erfpacked to aid in performance, however you may notice extended load times with the mod installed. If you have not patched your game exe to utilize 4GB of memory, I suggest that you do so.
  • There are a small number of cutscenes in which Bethany and Carver may end up standing on top of each other. You can see screenshots of these in the mod image gallery.
  • There are a small number of remaining references to Hawke as being the wrong class, or to Bethany's and Carver's deaths.
  • Twinception reconfigures many cutscenes in the Prologue and Act 1 to assume by default that both siblings will be present. If you have a playthrough with only one sibling present, certain cutscenes may look less than optimal aesthetically, but the dialogue should function correctly.

Installation:
  • Unzip the file and install in Documents\Bioware\Dragon Age 2\packages\core\override, as usual, and resolve any mod conflicts.
  • The main mod conflict you are likely to encounter right after installation is if you have any mod installed that alters Leandra's main dialogue. This can and will softlock your game at the ogre fight.
  • For a playthrough with both twins, you must start a new playthrough, or at the very least load a save before encountering the ogre in the Prologue. There is presently no way to re-add a sibling to the party pool after they've died.

Uninstallation:
  • Delete the files from packages\core\override
  • Obviously, if you uninstall the mod and then try to continue from a save with both twins alive, you will encounter issues. The most likely outcome is that the same-class twin will go into limbo, remaining in whatever state they were when the mod was uninstalled, while the game ignores their presence.
  • See also the above notes the Birthright quest.

Files modified:
  • Because so many files are affected by this mod, and because their impact on the mod vary so widely, they have been sorted into three different priority categories.
  • Critical files are essential for the mod and the game to function as intended. Conflicts with critical files may prevent the game from accurately registering Bethany's or Carver's status, or may halt forward progress on certain quests or the game as a whole.
  • Priority files prevent major visual or content bugs, but nothing permanent or game-breaking. These files also ensure the twins will appear in and participate in scenes as expected.
  • Supplemental files prevent minor visual or content glitches, such as twins standing on top of each other, twins being incorrectly referred to as dead in character dialogue, or Hawke being referred to as the wrong class in character dialogue.

List of modified files:
Spoiler:  
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Critical files:
  • Global
    • dae000_mother.cnv
    • gen00fl_bethany.cnv
    • gen00fl_carver.cnv
  • Prologue
    • pro000_cut_innocent_blood.cnv
  • Act 1 - Birthright
    • plt_bet100pt_birthright.plo
    • plt_car100pt_birthright.plo
    • plt_sib100pt_birthright.plo
    • sib111_mother.cnv
    • sib131ar_family_estate.ncs
  • Act 1 - Deep Roads Expedition
    • dae000_bartrand.cnv
    • dae111ar_gamlens_house.ncs
    • dre000_bethany.cnv
    • dre000_carver.cnv
    • dre000_cut_sibling_dies.cnv
    • dre000_stroud.cnv
    • dre120pt_main.ncs
  • Act 3 - Climax
    • mcr310_sibling.cnv
  • DLC - Legacy
    • drk050ar_desert.ncs
  • DLC - Mark of the Assassin
    • eye000ip_exit_hightown.ncs
    • eye400_rescuers.cnv

Priority files:
  • Global
    • dae000_flemeth.cnv
    • dae000_gamlen.cnv
    • gen00fl_varric.cnv
    • plt_act00pt_main.plo
  • Prologue
    • pro000_athenril.cnv
    • pro000_colonel_ewald.cnv
    • pro000_meeran.cnv
    • pro000_merchant.cnv
    • pro000cs_flemeth_real.cut
  • Act 1
    • dre000_mother.cnv
    • dre000_sibling_has_blight.cnv
    • mrl150_merrill.cnv
  • DLC - Legacy
    • drk000_introduction.cnv
    • drk000pt_exit_point.ncs
  • DLC - Mark of the Assassin
    • eye000_varric_cassandra.cnv

Supplemental files:
  • Global
    • char_stage.are
    • follower_banter.cnv
    • gen00fl_aveline.cnv
    • gen00fl_dog.cnv
    • gen00fl_fenris.cnv
  • Act 1
    • dae111_gamlen_intro.cut
    • dre000_varric.cnv
    • dre180ar_deep_roads.ncs
    • mag101_grace.cnv
    • mag131_keran.cnv
  • Act 2
    • qcr220_orsino.cnv
    • ser221_gamlen.cnv
    • ser270_cut_aftermath.cnv
  • Act 3 - Climax
    • mcr370_assignments.cnv
    • mcr371ar_gallows_prison_nt.are
  • DLC - Legacy
    • drk000_malcolm_mw.cnv
  • DLC - Mark of the Assassin
    • eye000_prosper.cnv
    • eye000_tallis.cnv
    • eye400_escaped.cnv

Omitted from the above list are a large number of stages and .cl files which affect the appearance of cutscenes and fall into the supplemental or priority categories.

Mod compatibility:
  • The extent of the file modifications required for Twinception presents a number of issues regarding mod intercompatibility. However, I will flag notable known mod compatibility issues here.
  • While many files have been erfpacked for performance reasons, many other commonly-modded files have been left loose to aid with resolving mod conflicts.
  • Many mod incompatibility issues can be resolved by manipulating the load order of your installed mods. Instructions on doing so have been provided below.

Specific notes on mod compatibility:
Spoiler:  
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  • Follower banter
    • To utilize mods that edit the main follower banter file, such as Less Uncomfortable Companion Banters, please ensure that the banter mod loads with a higher priority than Twinception, or remove the conflicting files from Twinception. By doing so, you may notice three banters that incorrectly refer to a twin's death.
    • Conflicting files: follower_banter.cnv
  • Follower main dialogue
    • Twinception edits the main dialogue file for a number of followers.
    • Aveline and Fenris have had only small changes made to their dialogues to remove references to the twins' death and/or make dialogue more appropriate for Hawkes of certain classes. If you have any mods, such as Bean's Dialogue Edits, that edit the main dialogue for these followers, you can continue to use them by making sure that mod loads with a higher priority than Twinception, or remove the conflicting files from Twinception.
    • Any mod that edits the main dialogue of Bethany or Carver may cause severe conflicts with Twinception and should be loaded with a lower priority or removed. See below for notes specifically regarding Save the Day.
    • Varric Dialogue Edits is not compatible with Twinception, but only to a minor degree. Most of Twinception's edits to Varric's main dialogue are to ensure that Bethany and Carver participate in Varric's introductory conversation based on whether they are active, rather than based on Hawke's class. You can choose to forgo these edits by ensuring that Varric Dialogue Edits loads with a higher priority than Twinception, or remove the conflicting files from Twinception. If both twins are alive, you won't notice any glaring issues. Varric Dialogue Edits may be patched in the future for Twinception compatibility.
    • Conflicting files: gen00fl_aveline.cnv, gen00fl_bethany.cnv, gen00fl_carver.cnv, gen00fl_fenris.cnv, gen00fl_varric.cnv
  • Party select screen
    • Twinception moves Bethany and Carver so they are no longer standing on top of each other on the party select screen. If you use other mods that alter the character stage, such as Kirkwall Expanded or Additional Companions, you will need to resolve the conflict by selecting which mod loads with priority.
    • Conflicting files: char_stage.are
  • DLC Timings by anshela
    • DLC Timings is not compatible with Twinception. A compatibility patch may be available in the future, but for now, please remove DLC Timings to play with Twinception.
  • Kirkw(All) by sapphim
    • To utilize Kirkw(All) alongside Twinception, please ensure that Kirkw(All) loads with higher priority than Twinception, or remove the conflicting files from Twinception.
    • Conflicting files: ser221_gamlen.cnv
  • Leandra Dialogue Edit by algaeabomination and Leandra Tweaks by sapphim
    • Mods editing Leandra's main dialogue are very emphatically not compatible with Twinception. Please remove any such mods.
    • Conflicting files: dae000_mother.cnv
  • Save the Day by anshela
    • All files edited by Twinception have been edited to only refer to Leandra's death in the case that it actually happened in game.
    • To utilize Save the Day alongside Twinception, please ensure that Twinception loads with a higher priority than Save the Day, AND then remove the file ser270_cut_aftermath.cnv from Twinception.
    • If you are also utilizing All That Doesn't Remain to skip the quest entirely, you can forgo removing any files from Twinception.
    • Conflicting files: dae000_gamlen.cnv, gen00fl_carver.cnv, ser270_cut_aftermath.cnv
  • Shut Up Gamlen by sapphim
    • Shut Up Gamlen is not compatible with Twinception and should be removed.
    • Conflicting files: dae000_gamlen.cnv

Manipulating load order to resolve mod conflicts:
Spoiler:  
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The easiest way to manipulate load order of your mods is by taking advantage of the way the game loads mods in alphabetical order.

Say I open packages\core\override and create a number of subfolders within and name them as follows:
  • A. Lower priority mods
  • B. Twinception
  • C. Higher priority mods
  • D. Compatibility patches

It doesn't matter exactly how the folders are named so long as they will load in a particular order, which I believe is ASCII order, so 0-9 A-Z a-z. Personally, I number mine 1., 2., 2.1., 3. etc.

By installing particular mods in particular folders, you can easily control which mod will take precedence in the game. If a mod in folder A and a mod in folder B contain the same file, the version of the file in folder B will "overwrite" the file in folder A, and that will be the version that takes effect in game. A third version of the same file in folder D will take precedence over both mods.


Special thanks:
  • A BIG special thank you to all of my beta testers, who have provided invaluable feedback over the several years that this mod has been in progress. Teamwork makes the dream work ✨